Jeffrey Hell Trail

Jeffrey Hell Trail is a 4 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Tellico Plains, Tennessee that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and birding and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

DISTANCE

4.0 miles

ELEVATION GAIN

990 feet

ROUTE TYPE

Out & Back

dogs on leash

birding

hiking

nature trips

walking

forest

river

views

wild flowers

wildlife

blowdown

muddy

rocky

The Jeffrey Hell Trail follows an old roadbed as it gradually descends through Jeffrey Hell toward the South Fork Citico Creek.
Jeffrey Hell gets its name because of the dense growth of rhododendron and mountain laurel that makes off-trail hiking difficult. There is also the legend that a man named Jeffrey went looking for his hunting dogs in the area.
The first part of the trail descends very gradually and is fairly easy hiking. However, the last 0.5 mile of the trail leaves the roadbed and heads very steeply downhill to intersect the South Fork Citico Creek Trail. There are a few places to camp along the Jeffrey Hell Trail, but it is a good route to obtain access to the middle portion of the South Fork Citico Creek Trail quickly or when the lower portion of that trail is inaccessible because the creek is high.

Easy start, but hiking partner unable to go down steep descending part to where waterway is. Turned back and did 3.5 miles total on easy part. Will return to finish trail some day. Best to go before vegetation starts to grow as it would easily be overgrown. Lot of trees down.

went today. There was a little snow on the ground. I actually went to see the Falls on South Fork Citico Creek. When you get to the junction of trail #196 and #105, keep straight and head downstream for just under 1/4 mile and the falls will be on the left. I went upstream out of the way for about a mile until I realized, so it wound up being a little adventure. Trail gets very steep going back up for a bit.

Diana O.

hiking

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

The Jeffrey Hell Trail 4.4 roundtrip and is easy on the old roadbed, then become moderate/difficult once you start the steep descent. There was some rain prior to our hike and we were pretty much walking in the stream heading down. It was ok with waterproof boots until we eventually came to a point where the boots needed to come off. If water level is high, hikers will need to ford the water. The trail ends at the junction of the South Fork of Citico Creek Trail. LOTS of trash on the hill on the side of the parking lot, very dismaying.
Tim Homan's book on the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and Citico Creek Wildernesses is a good resource for this trail and hiking in this area.